Fresh Apple Cake with Praline Glaze

Fall is my absolute favorite season!  And I’m sorry to say, we get very little fall in Louisiana.  The temps tend to go from summer heat to cool fall and back to summer heat all in a span of 3-4 days.  So, it’s a short-ish and inconsistent season; therefore, it must be relished!

Fall = apples and pumpkins to me.  What about you?  Anyway, we’ve had a few days of dryer air, but no real autumnal temperatures, so I thought I’d try to rush it a bit with a perfect-for-a-fall-day cake.  Fresh apple cake with a praline glaze…oh my goodness, I cannot begin to describe the aroma coming from my oven when I baked this cake – suffice it to say that incredible is as close as I’ll get!

And the cake!  My word, the cake!  Moist and dense with apples, redolent of cinnamon, and with the incredible flavor of the praline glaze, it is nothing short of scrumdiddlyumptious!

If you’re lucky enough to live close to a picky-your-own apple orchard, I envy you, and if you’re like me, apples from the market will do just fine.  I had Jazz and Granny Smith, so I used both.    

 Delightful with a cup of tea or coffee as an afternoon treat, or even for breakfast with a cold glass of milk….perfection….

• Combine
  apples, sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla; stir well and allow to sit for
  20 minutes.
• In
  another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set
  aside.
• After
  the 20 minutes, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease
  or spray a 13×9 baking dish; set aside.
• Mix
  in the oil and milk, then add the eggs, one at a time, to the apple mixture.
• Stir
  in flour mixture and pecans, if using.
• Pour
  mixture into prepared baking dish, and bake for 45 minutes.
• Prepare
  brown sugar glaze once cake is out of oven.
• Pour
  hot glaze over still-warm cake.
• Allow
  glaze to set before slicing.